


Demons in the Dust

by KiwiWolf91



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Future Fic, Horror, M/M, Post Season 6B, sceo - Freeform, supernatural horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 08:56:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14766500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiWolf91/pseuds/KiwiWolf91
Summary: Set after the events of Season 6B, Scott returns to Beacon Hills to run the local animal clinic - however a phone call from Theo leads him to a dark forest, with a dark secret





	Demons in the Dust

“Your problem, Dr. McCall, is that you care too much.”

Scott looked up from the pile of papers in front of him, and raised an eyebrow at his assistant.

She was picking up the remains of the dinner he’d ordered and eaten at his desk.

“You should really go home once and awhile.” she continued to lecture as she dumped the scraps of food and take out bag into the trash. “I think the pets of Beacon Hills could get on well enough if you went home at five o’clock every once and a while.”

“I’ll be out the door soon, I swear.” Scott assured her with a smile, even though he hadn’t left work before eight once in the two years he’d been back in Beacon Hills. “Just as soon as I’m finished going over these test results.”

She sighed again before heading towards the door, and gave him a long side-eyed glance before opening it.

“Have a nice night, Gina.” Scott smiled again at her, and soon she was gone.

The rest of the night passed relatively quickly. The computer spat out its final report within the next half hour of Gina’s departure, which allowed Scott to be flicking off the lights by the front door of the his veterinary practice by 9pm.

It was when he was untangling the keys in his pocket that his phone rang.

Silently cursing the inconvenience, he discarded the keys for a moment and pulled out his phone.

He didn’t recognise the number flashing up on his screen. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, his cell number was listed on the clinic’s website, but the the voice on the other end of the line shocked him.

“Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott?” Theo Raeken’s broken and panicked voice sobbed. 

It must of been over five years since he last talked to Theo, and his guts twisted at just how scared he sounded. 

“Theo? Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Scott!” Theo whispered down the line. “Help! Scott, help, help!”

A sense of urgency entered Scott’s body.

“Theo where are you? Who’s with you?”

“Scott.” Theo repeated down the line, his voice crackling before a series of undistinguished noises that sounded like rustling, like perhaps Theo had tripped and fallen down a bank.

The phone clicked in his ear and Scott stood dumbfounded for a second. 

Calling Theo’s number back a thousand times in the space of a minute, each time it went to voicemail. 

Then his brain clicked into overgear. Tearing through a mental list in his mind of people who might be aware of where Theo went after he left Beacon Hills to ‘find himself’.

Dialing Liam’s number, he paused before hitting the call button. Liam had exams and was trying so hard this year. He remembered struggling through school with all the supernatural shit going on.

Deleting Liam’s name, he typed in the only other person in Beacon Hills that would be keeping track of Theo.

“Scott, what’s happening buddy?” The sheriff asked through the phone, his tone light but obviously concerned.

“Hey, do you know where Theo is these days?”

“Why, what has he done now?” the sheriff sounded exasperated.

“Nothing, I just wanted to catch up.” Scott lied, thankful that the sheriff wasn’t a werewolf or that the heartbeat wouldn’t be able to be detected down the phone line regardless.

“Right.” The sheriff sounded unconvinced. “Last I heard, he became a Search and Rescue worker in Mount Hardrock National Park.”

The rest was a blur as Scott locked the building, jumped in his car, and hastily texted Gina to open up tomorrow as the Toyota Highlander tore down the highway.

Normally Mount Hardrock National Park was four hours away, but with his tires burning on the pavement, Scott made it in just over two hours. Screeching off the highway and onto the gravel path leading down to the campground, the car skidded on the loose surface as it came to a complete stop.

He practically leaped out of the car, his eyes scanning the dark forest that loomed before him, and paused. Two trails lay ahead, each disappearing in different directions through the endless sea of trees. The path on the left had a road cone and sign in front of it declaring it was closed off.

He could call Theo back, but what if it put him in more danger? Calming himself down, he focused on his nose, trying to catch Theo’s scent.

It was easier to catch than he thought. The smell triggered more in his memory than it had any right to, but what caught Scott off guard was that it wasn’t coming from the forest, but from further within the campground. Trusting his senses, he walked down through the campground towards the administrative building. 

Against the dark night sky and sea of black trees loomed a wooden two storey building, which looked like it belonged back in the ‘70’s. It had large steps, with a metal handrail leading up to large french doors.

The building was flanked by a small field scattered with motorhomes one side and what looked like cabins and restrooms on the other. 

Everything was pitch black and not a soul was moving. As it was already past one in the morning, Scott had expected it to be quiet, but the fact that there wasn’t even a little bit of stirring felt strange. Not one person was up making a late night cocca or toilet run.

However there was a faint light in the reception area. 

Surely the information desk wouldn’t be manned at this hour of the morning? 

As Scott pushed through the heavy doors and got a look at the decor inside, he definitely felt like he was stepping back into the 70’s. The carpet had the terrible diamond patterns, while everything else was a fade orange colour and all the railings, bench tops were wooden 

Not more than a moment after he stepped in, the room was filled with the foul stench of fear. Scott’s head quickly snapped to the man behind the reception desk. He was tall, about Scott’s age, and looked like he was about to flee.

“Hold it!” he snapped, his voice stern even in spite of his fear-stricken face. “What’s your business here?”

Scott cocked his head as the guy raised to his feet. “Sorry?”

“Why are you here?”

The man probably had a right to be spooked, it was a late hour and Scott was sure he must look a bit disheveled, but the atmosphere was so incredibly tense, so suffocating...it definitely wasn’t normal. 

“Sorry, I was just wondering if you knew where a Theo Raeken is?”

“Why?” the reply was short and sharp.

“I’m a friend, he rang me earlier and I’m concerned.”

“He’s fine, he’s asleep out back.” Another short, firm, answer. Too firm for Scott’s liking.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to see for myself.”

The man stared darkly at Scott for a couple of moment, before looking over his shoulder.

“Lock those doors.”

Scott contemplated the instructions for a moment, but decided to play along. He and walked back to the doors and slid the dead bolt across them before turning back to the man who simply nodded and disappeared out back.

Scott was relieved to see him return a few moments later with a tired-looking Theo in tow. He was wearing just a pair of boxers low on his hips, showing off the attractive lines of his waist, as well as his well defined chest and legs. It was entirely inappropriate time to think it, but damn it if he hadn’t forgotten just how much Theo really was sex on legs.

“Scott?” Theo asked, voice still drowsy. “What are you doing here?”

Theo’s heartbeat was steady, and his surprise at seeing Scott appeared to be authentic. Despite Theo’s ease at lying, Scott doubted he’d be able to control his heartbeat in his half asleep state - and his chemosignals made it clear that he was genuinely confused.

“You rang me.” Scott answered “Earlier, you sounded panicky.”

Theo’s eyes widened and his stance changed slightly. 

“Oh yes, that’s right I did. Sorry, uuuh, but everything is okay now.”

Scott narrowed his eyes as the other man looked over at Theo and whispered low enough that a human couldn’t hear but not low enough to escape the ears of werewolf. 

“I thought you lost it in the woods?”

Theo elbowed him. 

“Look, Scott . . .”

Theo’s excuse was interrupted by Scott’s phone buzzing in his pocket.

“It’s you again.” he said slowly, looking Theo dead in the eye.

“Must be a pocket dial, just hang up.”

Scott made a pointed show of looking at Theo’s boxers shorts as Theo squirmed on the spot. “And where exactly is your phone hiding?”

Answering the call, he put it on speaker phone.

“Scott.” came Theo’s voice.

“Theo, is that you?” Scott asked, a sick feeling in his stomach as the Theo in front of moved to grab the phone.

“Scott. Scott. Scott. Scott.”

“Theo, what is going on?” he might of been speaking towards the phone but it was aimed equally at all parties involved.

“Scott.” came the voice down the line.

“Must be a fault with the phone line.” Theo suggested meekly, before stepping forward again reaching out for the phone. “Look Scott, just hang the phone up”.

Scott pulled away from Theo - was it really Theo? Who was the Theo on the phone? 

“Theo is that you? Where are you? What’s happening?”

 

“Scott.” Theo’s voice repeated down the line but it sounded off. Something was wrong. Then, without warning, the line was overrun with clicks and static till a piercing, devastating scream burst from it.

But it was out of place, as if someone had spliced it into the phone call for it wasn’t Theo screaming, or even a man but it appeared to be an young girl. 

Not only that, it was soul crushing. He could sense that it had been forced out of her body by her last breath.

In a blur from lack of sleep and the weight of everything unexplained happening Scott twirled around shoving his phone back in his pocket. Somewhere out there a little girl was in danger, possibly . . .

“She’s dead.” Theo said, devoid of emotion, a firm hand clasping around Scott’s shoulder holding him in place. Normally, Theo wouldn’t of had the strength to hold him back, however Scott was so worn out and mentally exhausted that he let the chimera restrain him.

He wanted to yell until someone explained to him exactly what was going on here

“Scott, listen to me. I know it’s hard, but you have to listen to me.”

Listen to him? How did he even know that Theo was Theo? He looked like Theo, fuck did he ever. Scott would recognize the fatally enticing details of his body anywhere. Five years may have passed, but they’d done well on a body that was already attractive to begin with. He was every bit as alluring as he’d been the first day he’d stepped back into Beacon Hills claiming to be looking for a pack. 

Theo was like a double chocolate mud cake, he looked delicious but you knew you’d regret going there later.

His scent was distinctively Theo as well. As always the natural scents were masked by a expensive and flashy deodorant and body wash but underneath it was his genuine loneliness and regret, the same scents that had always made Scott want to smother with his own.

After Theo’s betrayal Scott had tried to convince himself that Theo had faked these scents to worm his way into the pack and destroy. But, the more he interacted with Theo after Liam dragged his sorry ass out of hell, the more he realised that it was genuine. Theo was just an idiot who didn’t know what he really needed or wanted, much less how to ask for it.

This couldn’t be fake. He knew Theo’s scent, the smells that triggered memories deep down inside him. Hell, he knew Theo’s touch. The feeling of Theo’s fingers against his arm, gently holding him in space was definitely Theo’s. 

“That was a little girl called Emily, she went missing six months ago.” Theo clarified. “There’s nothing you can do to help her. I’m so sorry.”

His voice cracked on the sorry, spilling emotion into the conversation for the first time. 

“You need to come with me.” his hand remained on Scott’s arm as he broke eye contact long enough to turn to his co-worker that Scott had honestly forgotten was still there. “Night, Fred.”

Fred, who had returned to his counter didn’t even look up from the report he was transferring to the computer, just nodded as he tapped away on the keyboard as if the last five minutes hadn’t happened. 

Theo dragged Scott out of the public area of the reception hall, behind the counter that Fred was working at and through a door with a large “Staff Only” sign hanging from it.

“So, this is where I live.” Theo announced as they pushed into a what was obviously a staff kitchen area with doorways on either side of it. “On left we have the admin and equipment storage room and on the right is where the staff who are based here sleep.”

He followed Theo out of the kitchen and down a long pale yellow narrow corridor. It looked as though someone had dropped a teaspoon of yellow paint in white paint and then blasted everything with it. The walls, the ceiling, the skirting boards, door, handrails was all this disgusting yellow colour.

“Yeah,” Theo said, looking at back at Scott and following his eyes along the corridor walls. “Of all the fucked up shit here, I still think the colour choice of the interior decorator is the worst.” 

He chuckled, but it was humourless and hollow.

Scott tore his eyes away from the wall, and refocused them on Theo. Before he could stop himself he found them slipping down Theo’s spine. Guilt flooded his mind. Clearly there was some deep dark secret and people were getting hurt, possibly even murdered, yet he couldn’t help himself from thinking about Theo’s ass, covered by only a slim piece of material was in front of him.

Sure, he had noticed in the reception Theo’s state of undress but now, following him, the way the fabric clung to him was impossible not to notice. Even with all the danger and uncertainty that hovered around them the sight of it made the wolf inside him hungry to rip the last bit of modesty Theo had and devour him whole.

He shook his head. Reminding himself to snap out of it.

“I lost my phone in the woods today.” Theo revealed without being asked. “I suppose I should disconnect it tomorrow before it racks up a huge bill.”

Silence hung in the air after that. Scott wasn’t sure if Theo was planning to add anything else or if he’d intended for that to have been some sort of joke. If so, he hardly felt like laughing.

Theo stopped in front of one of the doors with no warning, causing Scott to tumble into him. His body crashed against Theo’s bare chest, and his hands reflexively fell to the chimera’s torso resting just above his hips. There was a moment where they both stared at one another neither of them moved. 

Scott had to utilize all his willpower not to let his hands roam.

“Whoa.” Theo said, as if the awkward stop pause between them hadn’t just occurred. “Sorry I forgot you didn’t know where my room was.”

Theo fumbled in the digits, trying to subtly hide it from Scott which made it more obvious.

“Is my birthday your code?” Scott asked incredulously as Theo’s face flushed a very faint red.

“What? Why would . . . look I have a lot to explain. Come inside.”

“Your code is my birthday.” Scott repeated, slower this time, letting the words sink in both for himself and Theo. It wasn’t an accusation, nor a question but a statement. Theo’s reaction took him by surprise, he almost looked broken - almost as broken as he, or whoever, had sounded on the phone.

Theo’s ran his hands through his short hair before clasping them together behind his head, keeping his head low.

“Alright, fine. It’s just, you don’t understand. With everything that’s going on here I needed something to keep me grounded. Something to remind me of the outside world, okay? When...” Theo swallowed loudly before glancing to the side of the small room. “When I went with the Dread Doctors I saw weird shit that you can’t possibly even imagine but I knew what was happening the whole time. I had some semblance of control. But here, it’s just me and a couple of humans who think pretending that this isn’t happening is the best course of action.”

Scott reached out to touch Theo’s shoulder but the chimera pulled away, wiping his eyes that were now red and failing to hold back tears. 

Scott still wasn’t sure what had made Theo so upset but clearly something was horribly wrong.

He reached out again and this time Theo let him pull him close against his chest till Theo’s head rested in the crook of his neck.

There they remained for an uncertain period of time, Theo trying to pretend like he wasn’t sobbing into the side of Scott’s neck, till he broke away and wiped his face again.

Trying to keep his tired eyes on Theo’s face and not rolling over the body that was practically on display beside him, Scott decided to risk probing further. 

“Theo, I need you to be honest with me, okay? What is happening here? How did I get a phone call from you that isn’t from you? Why did Fred react so badly when I arrived? Why dled no one care about a young girl screaming on the phone?”

He stopped himself there, as he realised his tone had changed and Theo flinched back.

“I don’t know.” Theo replied quietly, shutting Scott out. “You need to leave in the morning.”

“Not until you tell me what is going on.” 

“No!” It was Scott’s turn to flinch as Theo snapped out of the blue. “You leave first thing in the morning. You get in your car and you drive as far as you can as fast as you can and never come anywhere near here again. Never.”

There was a fire in Theo’s eyes that Scott hadn’t seen for a long time, before Kira had banished Theo to hell all those years ago.

“Why?” he asked gently, hoping not to agitate Theo any further. Maybe it was simple, maybe they were all over tired and just plain exhausted.

“Because it wants you here, don’t you understand? It’s luring you in.” Theo answered.

“Who is?” Scott probed, with a bit more urgency.

Theo scoffed and shook his head “Not who Scott, this isn’t something you can reason with. What is it? No one knows, but it’s out there roaming, feasting.”

“If something’s out there where are the police reports?”

“Do you know how far this park spans? Do you have any idea how many people disappear in national parks across the country? If someone walks off the trail and goes missing isn’t big news.”

“How do you know they haven’t just gone missing then?” 

Theo’s eyes went dark and he opened his mouth but no words came. Sighing, he leaned forward and grabbed Scott’s hand, pressing his thumb hard in the middle of Scott’s palm to release Scott’s claws before putting them at the base of his neck and nodding at Scott.

His claws sunk deep into Theo’s neck and he was suddenly standing in a dark hallway. A hand tapped on his shoulder.

“This way.” Theo said as screams radiated out of a room down the dark hall - but these screams weren’t of a little girl, it was of a little boy.

“That’s you.” Scott said still looking down the hallway.

“I invited you in here to show you what’s going on here. . . not what. . . that doesn’t matter. It’s in the past now.”

Scott wanted to tell him it did matter, that burying it wasn’t going to fix anything but Theo had already walked away so he followed quietly till the hallway they were in gave way to a beautiful forest.

“Lovely isn’t it?” Theo said coldly. “That’s why I came here. To get away from everything and just...I don’t know. Sounds stupid but I wanted some peace.”

It didn’t sound stupid, Theo hadn’t had an easy life. Drugged and abducted at 8, tricked (or not, who knew for sure, did Theo even remember correctly?) into killing his family, forced into an underground life with the Dread Doctors who tortured and experimented on him before he finally made an ill advised dash for freedom and power. The same futile endeavor that had him working against the very people who could of (and would have) helped him.

Then he was banished to hell, which Scott accepted had to happen. At the time Theo was too far gone to help, no matter how much he had wanted to. Long to, if he was really honest with himself. 

Those six months had been harder than he had imagined or let on, Theo still occupied his mind and his regret at not being able to rescue him - or any of the other chimera’s for that matter. 

Then Liam had pulled Theo up from hell, and although Scott had never gotten around to asking Theo about it, it was obvious his time underground with his dead sister hadn’t been easy on him. For most teenagers, that would of been enough drama for a lifetime, but then again life in Beacon Hills never slowed down and Liam had used him against the ghost riders where he was threatened by an Nazi superwolf and then to top senior year off, they were all thrown into the biggest war between werewolves and hunters ever.

Even Stiles would agree, begrudgingly that Theo needed some time to relax and reflect.

How suitable, Scott mused darkly, that that was exactly the opposite of what happened.

In the background he could hear falling leaves rustling as memory Theo appeared and walked passed them, at the same time a small voice called out and he paused to look around.

The voice called out again, small and timid. Frightened. 

Memory Theo looked down the side of the cliff in front of him and gasped in shock, Scott ran up beside him and looked over his shoulder.

Below them lay a small child, a wee girl who was crying.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.” memory Theo hushed looking down at her “Hey. my name is Theo. What’s your’s?”

“I’m . . .I’m scared. I want my mommy.”

“Hey now, don’t worry, I’ve got you. What are you doing down there?” Theo asked 

“He left me here, he said he’s going to come back when he’s ready”

“Who did?”

“The man with the flowers. The one that said I was special. Where’s my mommy?”

“I’m going to take you back to your mommy.” memory Theo said firmly “Stay there, I’m coming down for you.”

.

Scott wanted to ask more but real Theo looked pale and sick. Whatever happened that day was going to play out just like it had.

Scott followed memory Theo as he made his way along the cliff face to find a path down to the ledge below. There was a fire in his eyes, a determination. Scott didn’t have to be a genius to see that Theo this was about more than just this one little girl to Theo. In her scared helpless eyes, Theo had seen an opportunity to make right a wrong long passed.

But also Scott could see something else. The urgency with which Theo moved - it wasn’t just for himself. He actually cared. Was actually worried. He wanted to save her, simply because he cared.

Scott had seen that look on Theo a few times in the war against Monroe. Every time he did it had made his heart soar - but this time the soaring sensation was tapered with the bitter knowledge that this would obviously not end well.

Finally a short, sharp path appeared and Theo scrapped down it, loose gravel slipping under his feet threatening to toss him over the side when a scream rang out through the forest.

Birds flew into the sky and Theo upped his pace, almost slipping over the ledge to a certain death but he ran along the ledge, rounding the corner back to where the little girl lay. But this time it was different.

No longer was she sitting up. No longer was she crying.

She was lying lifeless on the ledge. Theo kneeled down to picked her up, gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay? Talk to me, it’s okay I have you. We’ll find your mommy.” he said reassuringly “Hey, I need you to wake up for me—”

A small line of blood ran from her tiny nose to her lip.

The memory dissolved away and they were back in Theo’s dimly lit room, with four walls caging Scott and not even a hint of the bright spacious outdoors they were reliving a second ago.

Despite the faint moment it took Scott’s eyes to adjust to the darker setting, he was still able to clearly make out, and sense, Theo’s discomfort.

Again he wanted to pull Theo closer and reaffirm that everything was going to be alright. Everything always was after all, no matter the obstacle nothing was insurmountable.

But having Theo so close to him was bringing back all manner of urges that he shouldn’t feel. He didn’t just want to pull him closer, he wanted to wrap his arms around Theo’s waist, push him down onto the bed and crawl on top of him. He wanted to grind their bodies together and whisper promises into his ear as he moved inside him.

Yet he didn’t, couldn’t in fact. 

It would be hugely unfair on Theo because he wasn’t one hundred percent sure what his feelings were. Was it just lust because it had been months since he had gotten any? 

Nevermind, last time he let Theo in, let Theo get close, he had been betrayed him. Scott wasn’t stupid (or at least he wouldn’t be this time). He was well aware that Theo had changed considerably since his time in hell and his forced enlightenment, but he was still unsure if he could ever truly trust the chimera.

To touch Theo without a long term plan, despite the short term pleasure, would be cruel to the broken mess of a a person in front of him. Theo was desperately trying to resemble something normal and in control. He’d had been used, abused and discarded too many times for Scott just to fly in and add to the rubble.

There was little point in noting that Theo had never stated his sexuality. Scott could sense the changes in Theo’s chemosignals around him, and interestingly enough Stiles as well but Theo wanted something very different from Stiles.

Something Stiles would be willing to give him as well, Scott mused darkly, but it would be destructive for them both.

So instead, after far too long a silence, Scott sat back on the bed and asked, “What happened?”

Theo shook his head, his face screwed up in a way that pained Scott. Never before had he seen Theo so twisted, not even when the Dread Doctors had called him a failure.

“Theo, I need to know.”

There was a short, sharp huff followed by Theo standing up so suddenly it made Scott jump a little.

“The force of the fall burst every internal organ in her body. She was dead on impact.”

Scott narrowed his eyes before correcting Theo. 

“No, I meant the girl in your memory, the one you went to help.”

“I know.” was all Theo said, moving towards the door and resting his head against it.

“I don’t understand.”

“What part? The part where a five, maybe seven feet drop bursted every organ? Or the bit where she was alive and talking to me and then I lose sight of her for thirty seconds and she's gone. Or maybe...” Theo’s voice was getting louder as he swung around, “Maybe it was where she was ten miles from where her family was having a picnic within an hour of being reported missing.”

Theo stopped, jaw ajar and ran his left hand through his hair again with a look of pure distress on his face. He grimace and his fist balled so tight Scott could see blood leaking through the cracks of his fingers. He was tempted once again to reach out to Theo, to offer him some sort of comfort, to let him know he wasn’t alone, at least not anymore, but before he could give in to his wishes Theo slumped in the chair in the corner of the room.

“It’s been a long night and I’m tired.” he sighed. “We can sleep now, and then first thing tomorrow morning you are getting in your car and high tailing it out of here.”

That was certainly not going to happen, by any stretch of anyone's imagination. However, knowing arguing would be pointless, Scott just nodded. They both needed sleep, and he would be more use in the morning when they were both well rested.

“You take the bed, I’ll sleep in the chair.” Theo offered, fluffing the pillows behind him awkwardly.

“Don’t be silly.” Scott replied “I can sleep in the chair or on the floor, it's your bed.”

A bed which smelt like Theo, the deep unmistakable lust-inducing scent on the sheets mingled with the scent of the person that he had known since kindergarten. Someone he had told himself so many times before was off limits. . . 

Then again Theo could always slide into the single bed next to him, Scott would be more than happy to help remove those restrictive boxers from Theo’s waist. 

Although not only would that not achieve much, it would just make this whole situation more messy and confusing than it already was. So despite how much he wanted to feel Theo’s lips against his, his hands exploring Theo’s perfectly round bubble butt, he instead sat up on the bed.

“It’s your bed, you have it.”

“You drove all the way from Beacon Hills, just sleep in the damn bed, Scott. Please.”

Scott nodded, letting Theo’s quietly tired tone sway him as he lay down on the poor excuse for a mattress. 

“Goodnight, Theo.”

“Thanks for coming.” Theo whispered. He didn’t meet Scott’s eyes when he said it, but Scott knew that he meant it.

Sleep didn’t come easy for Scott, and in the middle of the night it was disturbed with his phone flashed.

Trying not to disturb Theo, he leaned quietly over to grab it. When he saw the screen his heart stopped for a second. 

It was a text from Theo, or at least Theo’s phone.

‘Scott. You are in danger. Come outside now. Don’t let him see.’  
‘Don’t trust him’  
‘Scott. This is not a joke. Things are happening here that aren’t normal.’

Scott sat up in Theo’s bed, caught between trying to get a more comfortable angle to read the text messages and not disturbing Theo who was sleeping in the chair across from him.

Rubbing his tired eye.s Scott knew one thing was right. Something wasn’t normal here. 

Biting the bullet, he keyed out a quick message as quietly as he could.

‘Who’s this?’

Those three little dots bouncing in the left hand corner of his screen for ages, as if teasing him before the message popped up on the screen. A chill ran down his spine as his brain attempted to dissect what he was reading.

‘It’s Theo. The same Theo who you saved from 4th grade. The same Theo who made a terrible mistake helping the Dread Doctors. The same Theo that your ex sent to hell.’  
‘Scott you have to get out of there right now.’  
‘LIKE NOW!’

So many questions entered Scott’s mind - after all he could physically see Theo in front of him.  
Hell not only that, but he had been inside Theo’s head. There was no way that wasn’t real. Neither could he forget the bizarre phone calls, if it really was Theo texting him then how come he hadn’t communicated with him on the phone properly? 

But then how could whoever (or whatever Scott’s mind added, remembering what Theo had said earlier) know as much as they (or it) knew?

‘Theo is asleep across from me.’

‘Is he?’  
‘You are tired, that is what they are counting on. It makes you easier to trick with their mind games.’  
‘Like I did when I was gaining your trust.’  
‘Scott, how would I know all this if I wasn’t Theo? The real Theo?”  
‘Come to the main door NOW’

Scott stared across the room at Theo’s slumbering body, or at least the person he thought was Theo.

What a bitter irony that he couldn’t even trust Theo to be Theo.

Lifting himself up off the bed, he gently tried to make his way out of the room. He felt more naked than he had realised walking down the strange hallway in just his boxers, but he hadn’t wanted to risk waking Theo.

In the dark the corridor didn’t look anymore near normal. It’s pale walls seemed even more haunted under the cover of darkness. He made his way through to the reception and stepped passed the counter area.

Standing in the public area of the reception he was even more aware of his boxer cladded status as his bare feet hit the cold wooden floor and the moonlight shone on him though the windows.

His phone vibrated “Come now.”

He walked up to the main door and peered out over the car park area where his car sat abandoned, then he caught it out of the corner of his eye and his heart beat jumped.

On the edge of the car park was the silhouette of a person, a bright light was in it’s hand, clearly the cell phone and it was Theo’s size.

It was close enough for Scott to know it could be Theo but still too out of focus, too grey even in the dark. As if it wasn’t there even as he stood there staring at it. 

“Scott, there isn’t much time.”

Scott felt a cold shiver run over him as he eyed the message, before calming himself. Living in Beacon Hills had accustomed him to bizzare events. With steady hands he typed out his reply.

“Why don’t you come here?”

“This isn’t the time for jokes or games. Scott you're in danger”

The question was, was the danger inside or outside?

Theo’s reply, or non-Theo reply sent another shiver down Scott’s back before a hand clasped his back, causing him to jump sky high.


End file.
